Long Island mother charged with murder in wrong-way crash that killed 9-year-old son on Southern State Parkway
RIVERHEAD, N.Y. -- A Long Island mother accused of driving while impaired in a wrong-way crash that killed her 9-year-old son on the Southern State Parkway is now facing murder charges.
A grand jury indicted Kerri Bedrick, 32, of Centerport, on higher charges that were unsealed Wednesday in Riverhead. She is now charged with aggravated vehicular homicide and second-degree murder based on depraved indifference to human life.
Bedrick was already charged with driving while impaired by drugs, unlicensed driving and criminal possession of a stimulant in the Aug. 22 crash in Bay Shore.
"It's a nightmare. She was only on prescription medications. And she's devastated just like the rest of us are," Bedrick's mother, Diane Bedrick, said outside the courtroom Wednesday.
Prosecutors say the 32-year-old mother was going 100 mph and drove the wrong way down the parkway for five miles, with her son, Eli Henrys, buckled in the backseat.
Kerri Bedrick was driving while impaired by methamphetamine, prosecutors say
Before the crash, a Suffolk County Sheriff's Office patrol car tried to pull her over for going the wrong way on Sunrise Highway, but authorities said she sped up.
When they caught up with her on the Southern State, she had collided with three other vehicles and was standing outside her SUV. Her son was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Responding officers reported Bedrick had watery eyes, slurred speech and impaired motor skills. When asked where she was coming or going, she replied, "I honestly don't know," according to court documents.
She was also found in possession of various pills, including methamphetamine, prosecutors said.
Bedrick's attorney, Scott Zerner, said she suffers from medical problems, including spina bifida, narcolepsy, epilepsy, and she was taking prescribed medication. He also said she has been the victim of domestic violence.
"There was a tragic accident where a young person died who shouldn't have died," Zerner said Wednesday. "She's charged with many counts in this indictment. Whether she's able to be proven guilty of each and every element of each and every count remains to be seen."
The judge denied a request for a reasonable bail so Bedrick could receive medical treatment; instead ordering she get care while behind bars. If convicted, she faces 25 years to life.
Lawmaker wants crackdown on driving with suspended license
Bedrick's license was expired at the time of the crash, and she had 56 suspensions, including a 2012 DWI conviction, prosecutors said.
State Sen. Dean Murray said he's been trying to get Albany to take suspensions more seriously, adding they can multiply when traffic or parking tickets are ignored.
"You might have gotten it in the mail, threw it aside, forgotten about it, and you rack a few more up," Murray said.
Murray said prosecutors have told him they have too little manpower and time to go after suspensions.
"If this woman were actually punished the way she should have been for driving without a license and she was in jail, her son would still be alive," Murray said.